The Banda hills viewed from the small hill west of Kabruno, looking northward. Center photo are tobacco fields that have been clear-cut and tractor-plowed. Tobacco began to be grown as a cash crop in the area during the mid 1980s. Banda hills, May, 1995
Tobacco began to be grown as a cash crop in the Banda area in the early 1980s. Here young people tie leaves to the branches from which the tobacco will be suspended while hanging in the drying barn. Visible in the background are two drying barns built of cement block and roofed with iron sheets. Tobacco companies advanced farmers the materials to build these barns against the farmer's crop. Between the drying barns is a stack of wood brought in by tractor to fuel fires in the barns. In the background of one photo, men carry headpans filled with tobacco which they have brought from farm. Two photos. South side of Ahenkro, July-August, 1986.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
Ahenkro
Subjects:
Drying barns; Children's work; Wood piles; Headpans; Men's work
Subjects Facet:
Lifting and carrying; Firewood; Tobacco; Metal roofing; Agriculture; Building; Cash crops
A tractor-plowed field close to the Banda hills on the outskirts of Ahenkro has been planted with tobacco. Tobacco farming began in the Banda area in the 1980s and was common by the 1990s as many farmers took up commercial tobacco production. After tobacco farming was banned by the Traditional Council, some open fields like these were planted in cashew, the cash crop in which many Banda farmers invested from the early 2000s. Others have been used for mono-cropping (fields used for a single crop type) cash crops that are annuals. Northwest of Ahenkro, May, 1995.
An educational poster with pictures and text which describes Banda-area village life from the 15th through the 17th centuries. It briefly summarizes what has been learned from archaeological excavations at Kuulo Kataa about metal working. It also outlines the use of wild and domestic animals and the new objects and practices that developed in this time when trade connections with the Niger River area were strong. It is one of five posters prepared for a Banda community event held in July, 2011. Printed versions of the posters are housed in the Banda Cultural Centre, Ahenkro.
A plowed field at the base of the Banda hills near Ahenkro remains unplanted. Other previously plowed but now fallow fields are visible as light green areas against a background of savanna woodland. These clear-cut, tractor-plowed fields were first opened up in the 1980s and 1990s when many farmers took up commercial tobacco production, later banned by the Traditional Council. Looking eastward, the hills near Fawoman are visible in the background. Two photos. Northwest of Ahenkro, June, 2009.
A field planted with tobacco near the Banda hills northwest of Ahenkro. Banda area farmers began to go into commercial tobacco farming in the 1980s. In preparation to grow tobacco, fields were clear cut and plowed by tractor. Tobacco seedlings were transplanted into the mono-cropped fields. Farmers used commercial fertilizers supplied by tobacco buyers who advanced money on cured leaves. These large cleared fields rapidly lost soil fertility. After tobacco farming was banned by the Traditional Council in the early 2000s, these open fields were often planted with other cash crops, like cashew. Northwest of Ahenkro, 1994.
A woman carries harvested tobacco leaves from farm to the area where the leaves will be tied for drying. Behind her, a ladder rests against the wall of a cement block metal-roofed tobacco drying barn. Tobacco was grown as a cash crop in the Banda area from the early 1980s into the early 2000s. Farmers received materials like bags of cement and roofing sheets to build drying barns as advances on their crop. South side of Ahenkro, July-August, 1986.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
Ahenkro
Subjects:
Headloading; Drying barns; Women's work
Subjects Facet:
Building; Tobacco; Metal roofing; Cash crops; Lifting and carrying
By 1994, many Banda farmers had gone into tobacco farming. Money was advanced to farmers by tobacco companies to purchase the cement and iron sheets needed to build drying barns. The buyers also advanced commercial fertilizer needed to grow the cash crop. A tractor supplied by the company was used to prepare fields for the seedlings and to transport firewood from surrounding areas to the barns. Large amounts of wood were used to stoke fires in the drying barns. South side of Ahenkro, June-July, 1994.
Tobacco was grown as a cash crop in the Banda area during the 1980s and 1990s. Pictured here are wood piles and tobacco barns on the south side of Ahenkro. The wood was collected and brought to town using a tractor. The high demand for wood by tobacco farmers to fuel the drying barns created tensions with women who relied on wood collected from farms to fuel their cooking fires. Ahenkro, June-July, 1990.
Drying barns on the south side of Banda-Ahenkro used to dry and cure tobacco. Wood used to fuel the fires in the barns is stacked in piles between the barns and was brought in from surrounding farmland by tractor. The high demand for wood by tobacco farmers created tensions with women who relied on wood collected from farms to fuel their cooking fires. Ahenkro, June-July, 1990.
View from the mountain gap in the Banda hills west of Ahenkro, looking southeast toward the range of hills near Boase. A clear-cut tractor-plowed field (foreground) awaits planting of tobacco seedlings. Tobacco was grown as a cash crop in Banda from the mid-1980s through the 1990s until its cultivation was banned by the Banda Traditional Council. Beyond the field are houses in Gbao and savanna woodland extending to the Boase range. Outskirts of Ahenkro, 1994.
The Banda hills viewed from the small hill west of Kabruno, looking northward. To the right of the mountains (center photo) are tobacco fields. Tobacco began to be grown in the area as a cash crop in the mid 1980s. Banda hills, May, 1995
Two young boys tend to a pretend tobacco drying barn that they have built on the south side of Ahenkro, near to where tobacco is being processed. A functional drying barn is visible in the background (center) alongside large piles of wood that will be used to fuel it. Two photos. Ahenkro, 1995.
A clear-cut, tractor-plowed field at the base of the Banda hills, northwest of Ahenkro. Production of commercial tobacco in the 1980s and 1990s introduced clear cutting and tractor plowing to the area. Once opened up, these fields are not well suited for growing yams or intercropping. They are typically put to production of other cash crops. Northwest of Ahenkro, June, 2009.
Part 1 of an interview with Yaw Manje of Banda-Ahenkro, family head of Hakolo Katoo. Yaw Manje talks about how farmers in the Banda area took up tobacco farming in the 1980s and 1990s and reflects on how growing cash crops like tobacco and cotton affected the land and local communities. This short video focuses on the English translation provided by interviewer Enoch Mensah. A version of Part 1 with the full dialogue in Nafaanra and English is available through a link below. Also available through the "iaff_works" link below through UVic Libraries is the full interview with Yaw Manje. Ahenkro, 13 August, 2018. Length: 00:13:57
Part 1 of an interview with Yaw Manje of Banda-Ahenkro, who is family head of Hakolo Katoo. Yaw Manje talks about how farmers in the Banda area took up tobacco farming in the 1980s and 1990s and reflects on how growing cash crops like tobacco and cotton affected the land and local communities. This video includes the full dialogue in Nafaanra and English. A shorter version focused on the English translation by Enoch Mensah is available through a link below. Also available at the "iaff_works" link below through UVic Libraries is the full interview with Yaw Manje. Shorter topically focused excerpts of this interview are available at the links below. Ahenkro, 13 August, 2018. Length: 00:19:36
To the right of a large tree, a field planted with tobacco is seen from the roadside. After clear-cutting, the rectangular field was tractor-plowed and planted with seedlings provided by the Pioneer Tobacco Company. Trees left standing mark the edges of the field. Visible in foreground is scarring created by construction of a new grated road. Near Nyrie, June, 1994.